Easy 3-Ingredient Onion Soup Meatballs with Carrots is a delicious, savory comfort food.
This simple dish features juicy meatballs and sliced carrots simmered in a rich, flavorful onion broth.
A one-pot dish with no need to make a slurry or roux!
Flavored with the nostalgic gold-standard onion soup mix—the ultimate shortcut for adding a ton of flavor to ground meat without several different spices—this dish is made without the pork, butter, or heavy cream often found in traditional recipes like Swedish meatballs.
It is a hearty, dairy-free, and budget-friendly meat dinner option for any busy weeknight!
This delicious, savory meatball dish is simple to make and perfect for a quick meal!
Made in one pot! And you don’t need to make a roux or a slurry!
Serve these meatballs alone on a plate, over rice, with mashed potatoes, or however you like.
Because it refrigerates well, you can easily make it ahead of time to warm up for lunch or dinner.
It’s also budget friendly!
And, from experience, it is kid-friendly too!
Plus meat has some health benefits!
Prefer to use ground chicken? No problem!
Like meatball dishes? Try Moroccan-Israel Meatballs and Olives or Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms (without peas).
What is a slurry?
A slurry is mixture of liquid and dry starch, such as cornstarch or potato starch, into a paste that is used to thicken sauces and soups. One can use flour to make a slurry as well.
What is a roux?
Pronounced “roo”, a roux is a cooked mixture of fat and flour used to thicken sauces and soups.
What does savory mean?
Savory refers to foods that are not sweet, such as foods that taste salty, spicy, or herbal.
What does it mean to simmer?
To simmer means to heat liquid to just below the boiling point (has slow bubbles). A lot of recipes call to bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer.
Everyday pantry essentials to keep in your kitchen (suggested)
Because I have a fairly large family (6 kids), I learned to keep a large amount of ingredients in my cupboards (and fridge) at all times so that I am able to make a nice variety of meals without having to plan ahead.
Onion soup mix is one of those items (besides always having veggies in the fridge and meat/chicken in the freezer).
Here is a pretty decent list of what I have and I hope it gives you some inspiration.
Seasoning and flavoring:
- salt (my recipes use regular table salt)
- ground black or white pepper
- granulated garlic or garlic powder (I prefer granulated)
- onion powder
- sweet paprika and/or sweet pepper flakes (paprika is ground dried red pepper, pepper flakes are crushed dried red pepper)
- hot paprika, hot pepper flakes, or cayenne pepper (moderately spicy dried ground chili pepper) for those occasional spicy dishes
- ground turmeric
- ground cumin
- ground cinnamon
- ground ginger
- ground nutmeg
- ground cloves (for pumpkin flavors)
- sugar (granulated)
- brown sugar
- chicken consommé powder / beef bouillon powder (regular or vegetarian)
- onion soup mix
- onion flakes (substitute for fresh onion—3 tablespoons for 1 medium onion).
- various herbs
- additional spices to adapt taste to preference
Misc:
- oil / margarine / butter / cooking spray
- coconut cream as a dairy-free cream substitute
- flavorless milk substitute as a dairy-free milk alternative
- cornstarch as a thickening agent
- flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- bread crumbs or cornflake crumbs (you can make these with your blender or food processor) for coating
- condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce
- tomato sauce/tomato paste/canned tomatoes—diced or crushed/pasta sauce
- soy sauce (makes a great flavoring for savory foods)
O always have eggs in the fridge and onions, rice, and potatoes on our shelves, as well as pasta.
In addition, having some fresh vegetables in the fridge, such as carrots, celery, tomatoes, bell peppers (various colors), etc., can be very useful when putting together a quick but delicious meal.
It is also a good idea to have some ground meat or chicken (breast, ground, or in parts) in the freezer for anyone who likes meat dishes in a snap.
While you certainly don’t need all of the above on the list, if you had them, you would be able to make this meal at the spur of the moment and in no time at all !
A little about carrots
Carrots are a root vegetable.
They are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. In addition, carrots are rich in antioxidants—nutrients found in plant-based food—and can reduce the risk of some cancers.
In addition, carrots can help support immune function, wound healing, and digestive health.
When I was a child and didn’t want to eat the cooked carrots on my plate, my mother would pick up the phone and tell me she was going to call Bugs Bunny on me and tell him!
For decades, carrots have been rumored to improve one’s eyesight, but is it true? Check out this article about that in the Scientific American.
Easy 3-Ingredient Onion Soup Meatballs with Carrots
Carrots and meatballs cooked in a delicious, savory onion soup gravy. Made without heavy cream, butter, or pork!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef, rolled into 1-inch balls.
- 6 medium thin carrots, sliced into 1/2 inch thick disks
- 6 tablespoons onion soup mix, or to taste
- 4 cups of water
Instructions
- Slice carrots into 1/2" disks or angles.
- Roll ground beef into 1-inch balls.
- Bring water to a boil and turn down heat to medium
- Slowly add onion soup mix while stirring, making sure there are no clumps.
- Add carrots and meatballs and boil until carrots are tender (around 8 minutes)
Notes
*Add a little more water if mixture becomes to thick and salty.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 263Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 67mgSodium: 1240mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 22g